Because if we're going to try and stop the misuse of our favorite comics and their protagonists by the companies that write and publish them, we've got to see what both the printed and online comics news is doing wrong. This blog focuses on both the good and the bad, the newspaper media and the online websites. Unabashedly. Unapologetically. Scanning the media for what's being done right and what's being done wrong.

Saturday, February 02, 2013

Dan Slott's weak arguments about gun control

Reading what comics writers and artists have to say on Twitter is no easy feat, because like many other tweeters, they too can post busloads all within a short time span and if there is anything eyebrow raising to note, it can get buried pretty fast under every consecutive entry. But I've been trying my best in recent weeks to see what's going on, and now, I see that Dan Slott is arguing ambiguously with everybody about gun control laws. It began with this:

CNN just reported 3 gun-related related deaths in a row. 1 at a school. This is happening in the US. It's not political. It's OUR problem.
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 31, 2013

But did CNN ever report about any of the innocents who successfully defended themselves and other innocent people against criminals? Probably not, because it wouldn't be politically correct or coincide with their leftist positions, now would it?

CHICAGO — Not a single gun shop can be found in this city because they are outlawed. Handguns were banned in Chicago for decades, too, until 2010, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that was going too far, leading city leaders to settle for restrictions some describe as the closest they could get legally to a ban without a ban. Despite a continuing legal fight, Illinois remains the only state in the nation with no provision to let private citizens carry guns in public.

And yet Chicago, a city with no civilian gun ranges and bans on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, finds itself laboring to stem a flood of gun violence that contributed to more than 500 homicides last year and at least 40 killings already in 2013, including a fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl on Tuesday.

Slott, who met with disagreement over his awkward arguments, goes on to say:

Movies/video games AREN'T the problem. Our gun culture is the problem. Other countries have the SAME movies/games & DON'T have this problem.
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 31, 2013

If they don't have them, that's because they got better education systems then the USA does. But look at Britain, where violent crime by guns has gone up, and even a news company as awful as the BBC was willing to admit what I found earlier, that crime rose in the UK. And in Australia, there was a 42 percent increase in crime since their own gun laws were passed (H/T: Vox Popoli).

And his assertion that movies and games aren't a problem is getting old too. NBC recently published a poll (via Big Journalism) where a sizable number of people have said they view movies and irresponsible parenting as the causes for violence. If Slott really has a problem with guns, he could at least argue first about the quality of the education system in the USA, and whether it's really dedicated to raising people to the best of standards. He's wrong about the rest of the world having the same movies, by the way: compared to Hollywood, not many European countries go out of their way to spend big on special effects. In France, dramas like Eric Rohmer's are usually the main output. Not many action/adventure blockbusters of the size and scope you see in the US there.

Slott goes on to attack the NRA and any politicians who support them:

Senators who get NRA backing AND who attach riders to gun bills should have to attend the funerals of EVERY American who dies at a shooting.
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 31, 2013

What about moviemakers who don't care about good education? Why not them?

There's a difference between FANTASY and REALITY. Gunplay in movies, TV, books, comics, and video games is NOT the problem. REAL guns are.
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 31, 2013

I don't play FPS games. But I don't care if someone plays 'em EVERY waking hour of their life. It's not REAL. Video game bullets don't kill.
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 31, 2013

Does he care if a parent/teacher doesn't teach his or her child why what we see in a Doom game shouldn't be copied in real life? He even goes on to say the following:

.@the_rajun_bear No. Mental illness is a scapegoat in this argument. OTHER countries have mentally ill. They DON'T have our gun culture.
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 31, 2013

Well if that isn't one of the most classically sloppy claims I've ever heard! Since when wasn't mental illness a concern? It most certainly is, especially if it hasn't been treated right. A parent - well, anyone who's aware of a basket case in their midst - should try to warn authorities immediately, lest disaster fall upon sane society. Next thing we know, Slott will probably say the Koran is a scapegoat without even researching any of the verses and themes inside. The creep who committed the murders in Connecticut was mentally ill, and he has the gall to say mental illness is trivial? Oh my god.

With that last tweet there, Slott has proven he has no talent for arguing politics any more than for writing comics. It's bad enough people in showbiz will claim violent entertainment has no ability to indoctrinate, but it's worse to go off saying that mental illness has no impact. His retort is a textbook case of not thinking things through.

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About me

I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.